December 02, 2008

Songbird Launch: Fly 1.0! Fly!

The 1.0 release of Mozilla-based open source media player Songbird has finally arrived, and trust me, as someone whose true love has worked on this from the beginning, no one has wanted this more than me. I'm too close to know what people are going to say about this, but in 2005 they were calling this an open source iTunes killer - difficult shoes to fill with a primarily volunteer workforce and a player that still can't rip CDs or sync to your iPhone. So let me tell you what it does have - WinAmp-esque skins (feathers), concert touring info, a LastFM extension, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - heart.

WHY SWITCH FROM ITUNES TO SONGBIRD?

Logical Argument: Honestly, most of us just want to play the music we love whenever we want. Multi-device compatibility and cross format file support is really only important when you've got a party full of people and a device full of unplayable files. Listening should be seamless, and it isn't with iTunes or Songbird. The Songbird guys are the first to admit it. The difference is that iTunes and even the iPhone are purposely built to be incompatible with everything unApple. Meanwhile, Songbird's 35 employees and 4,500 volunteer community members are trying to fix this. Hell, if it really grinds your gears, you can fix it.

Emotional / Ad Hominem Abusive: You like us right? You want us to stay in America right? Well it's pretty hard to stay in the freaking country when the smart one doesn't have a visa. Get Songbird.